Action Vale Farms

The SolarWall system has produced excellent energy reductions by displacing over 30% of the propane usage at the farm. This has translated into annual savings of over $4,000 (at 2007 propane prices). At the time of the project, the payback was calculated to be five years.

Background

Pork producer Daniel Messier owns and operates Acton
Vale nursery barns in Sherbrooke, Quebec. These buildings
require huge amounts of fresh air for ventilation—24
hours a day & 7 days a week. Heating this volume of air
is tremendously expensive, especially considering that in
the winter it can be -22°F outside and nurseries must be
kept at a warm 84°F. SolarWall® systems have been
used on hundreds of these types of agricultural applications,
and have demonst

Solution

SolarWall® systems were installed on the south end of
two of Messier’s nursery barns (each approximately 60ft x
100ft). The technology works by drawing fresh solar
heated air through tiny perforations in the SolarWall system’s
outer cladding. The warmed air is pulled through
the building by fans located on the north walls. A supplemental
heating system was kept for very cold days.